


Journey of Rin

by liskasimone



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Multi, My First Fanfic, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:00:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25871737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liskasimone/pseuds/liskasimone
Summary: Rin is a Farseth Healer traveling across Thedas in search of a worthy cause and purpose after her mentor is murdered.  She hopes to find purpose with the Inquisition but finds more than she could ever dream for.
Relationships: Cullen Rutherford/Original Female Character(s), Iron Bull/Original Female Character(s)





	Journey of Rin

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first fanfiction ever posted! I hope you enjoy. Definitely nervous to hear what you all think but I also crave the criticism and opinions. Let me know what you think!

Was there ever a time at which we were not at war? The scarred land lays bare and raw, scraped by blasts of magic and demonic claws. Sections of the ravaged sky dipped down towards the once lush forest floor. The streaks of green amidst the clouds and swirling downwards may appear beautiful at first glance until the realization of what was happening to the world dawned.

Rin sat crossed legged on a small knoll overlooking the terrain. She stared sullenly and blankly watched as the wind blew the loose dirt across the desolate landscape. She sighed and let her head fall into her hands. “I’m trying Aldin. I’m trying to hold on.” The wind blew tendrils of dark brown hair across her thick brows as she scanned the horizon. “I’m trying to help. People are so...predictably cruel to each other. I don’t know how to help them find peace.” She ran a hand through the loose dirt in front of her. “It’s beginning to feel pointless. It feels like everytime I find the opportunity to help, innocent people get wrenched away. Am I truly doing any good if people keep dying? I thought we were supposed to save lives? Not comfort them as they leave this world.” She lifted some of the dirt and let it slip through her fingers. “I’m trying to inspire kindness for others but people still keep getting caught up in material things, claims, jealousy, pride...I wish...I wish you were here. You were always so much better with people than I was. I could never speak as eloquently as you.” She sighed again and rubbed the dirt into her leggings absentmindedly. “Sometimes I feel hopeless. My voice is so small.” her breath hitched at the last word and she scowled at herself. “How can I get people to be fucking decent to each other? We’re all connected here!” her voice began to grow in volume and she shoved herself up to her feet. She gestured wildly behind her. “Just look at this! Look at this fucking mess I found today!” she gritted her teeth as she began to feel her pulse quicken and breath grow short and harsh. “So many people…” The wind changed and smoke from a pile of bodies wafted over towards her. She grimaced. “This is fucking stupid! How can people be so mindless?! What’s the fucking point?! Ahhhhhh!” in her rage she threw a rock towards the charred bodies she had collected and piled. “What am I doing?” she sobbed and leaned over to brace her hands on her knees trying not to cry. A hawk screeched and swooped down from the sky, attracted by the rock skittering across the ground. It landed on an overturned wagon and turned to stare at her. She froze and stared back. She took a deep breath and reached for her pack on the ground. “Ok Aldin. I got the message.” She knelt down to adjust the straps on her pack and lifted her hood to protect her skin from the sun and wind. “I’ll keep searching. You’ve never let me down before.” She dug into her belt for some of the jerky she had left. It was a very sad amount but she stood firm and tossed it towards the hawk. “I’m sorry for confusing you friend. Thank you for the help.” The hawk pounced on the food. She shouldered her pack and rose from the ground. She took one more scan along the horizon. “May you find better lands” she whispered and set off. 

Rin traveled for 40 days. Stopping to sleep in abandoned buildings or in sheltered alcoves. She meditated through the cold and forced herself to sleep despite her body’s warnings not to. She slept as close as she dared to the fire and wrapped her rust colored robes tightly around herself. Hunger gnawed at her belly but she told herself to keep going. Keep believing. A small relief came with the rain one day. She rested while it poured down on the new terrain around her. There were trees here and there among the hills and outcroppings of rocks. She chose to wait out the storm by an elven ruin that had a large overhang. There she meditated and moved through a relaxing series of stretches. She breathed deep and sighed as her water containers filled with the blessings from the sky. She pondered for a moment and then decided to unbind her hair. She sat on the ground close to the overhang and took her comb from her pack. She hummed to herself softly as she combed her waist length hair from end to root. She felt a stirring in the air around her. It was gentle and swaying. “Thank you for allowing me to stay here spirits.” She smiled warmly and bowed low to the ground, her hair drifting across the moss. “I am grateful.” She continued to comb her hair and hummed along to the feelings of the veil around her. She sighed with delight as she scratched and rubbed her scalp. She reached for her pack. “Would you like me to play for you?” she felt the vibrations in the air grow with excitement when her fingertips brushed the edges of her lute. The wind changed and a mist of rain blew against her face. She giggled and swatted at nothing “ok ok I see that pleases you!” She drew out the dark wood lute and laid it gently in her lap. Her hair spilled to one side as she softly strummed. The air sighed with content around her as she played. “I used to play this in the healing halls...before everything changed.” her face fell and sadness poured from the strings. She could feel the lightest of caresses against her cheek and she smiled. “Thank you friend.” She could feel the music lulling her to sleep, complete relaxation taking over her. She let her eyes shut and swayed her head to the side as her fingers continued to ghost over the strings. 

Rin awoke gently and starred at the ceiling of the overhang. She turned her head to look out at the land outside the ruin. The sun was barely rising and the vegetation glistened with dew. She smiled and sat up from her bed roll. She tucked her legs under her and began to rise into a stretch. She moved through the motions of the routine that always brought her peace and focus. She drank from her canteen and contemplated. “I really must find some food today” she thought and her stomach growled in response. She rose and packed her things, shaking out her bedroll and wrapping it lovingly around her lute. She took out her bag for foraging and shouldered her pack. Turning towards the ruin, she smiled “farewell friend and thank you again.” The breeze blew against her cheek and she turned and made her way down the hill. She nibbled on what little things she could find as she walked. Moss, berries, and wild garlic. The garlic burned her mouth and throat but she pushed it down. “Ugh! At least it’s something” she muttered as she moved through the trees. “Oh fuck yes” she murmured when she stumbled upon some mushrooms growing along the base of a tree. She knelt down and looked carefully at it before drawing out her knife and delicately cutting away a portion. It was tempting to collect the whole specimen as her stomach growled but she knew that wasn’t the right thing to do. She placed the section into her bag and moved on.

Rin stumbled over a loose rock while she was looking at the new landscape. The ground was fairly soft and forgiving with moss and leaf litter. The forest had grown thicker here and provided a small amount of protection from the cold wind. The tree branches were heavy with moss and lichen, drooping down occasionally into her path. She wasn’t sure if she was heading anywhere promising at this point and weariness was truly starting to weigh on her. She rolled onto her back and stared at the sky through the branches. Birds flitted between the limbs and a squirrel scratched noisily up the side of a tree. She ran her trembling hands down her body, feeling how her ribs and hipbones had become more prominent during this journey. Her stomach growled and she sighed and rested her folded hands upon it. “It’s going to be ok” she murmured to herself. “You can do this.” she shut her eyes for a moment and tried to let her mind ease into a more relaxed state. Just as her eyelids began to feel heavy and her breathing slow, she heard a shout and a loud crash in the distance. She rolled over quickly and stayed low to the ground and listened. The definite sound of metal clashing together rose from the gully ahead and made its way through the trees towards her. Cautiously, she rose and quietly and swiftly made her way towards the commotion. She dropped back down to the ground by some dense vegetation and pulled her hood back over her head. She held her breath and carefully peered over the edge. The first thing she saw was a massive Qunari plowing his way through what looked like templars. He swung his broad axe through the last templar in his path and shattered the shield with a deafening noise that made her clench her teeth together. She had never seen a Qunari before and her green eyes widened in amazement. Her eyes darted to a woman with cropped black hair that shouted and ran to his aid. They stood back to back and whaled on their opponents with an impressive coordination despite their differences in size and fighting style. A ratcheting noise sounded and Rin followed the noise with her eyes to a dwarf that was shooting a large crossbow just before he vanished. A streak of blue flashed across the gully and Rin chased it with her eyes. It pelted into an archer that was hiding behind a tree and had leaned out to fire. The archer’s body froze solid and the dwarf appeared again mid air and fired another shot into the frozen archer. The bolt hit it’s mark and exploded. Rin’s body jerked in surprise and she pressed herself lower to the ground. The Qunari brought his axe down in one final blow and the fight was over. He whooped into the air with a booming voice and slapped the woman on the shoulder. “Hell Cassandra we’re amazing together!” he laughed and she chuckled and shook her head as she wandered away. “That should be the last of them” came a soft voice and a mage stepped out into Rin’s line of vision. He wore green robes and had long brown hair tied back into a ponytail. Rin noticed he had markings on his face and neck and that his ears ended in sharp tips. “An elf” she thought and continued watching as he walked closer to his companions. “It should be safer for the refugees now with the templars and mages subdued. Check and see if there are any supplies we can leave for them.” “You got it” came a friendly sounding voice from the dwarf. “Inquisitor, we should collect as much elfroot as we can find for the wounded back in Haven. I hope they are still ok.” the woman named Cassandra said while she wiped her sword down with a rag. “That’s a good idea Cassandra. Bull, see if you can find any extra bags on the templars.” said the Inquisitor while he lifted his hand into the air. “Sure thing Boss.” said the Qunari and he turned to easily flip a templar body over with one hand. A crow flew down with a squawk and landed on the Inquisitor’s arm. “We should send word to Leliana about our progress here.” Rin’s heart skipped a beat in excitement. “Finally.” she thought and smiled. A movement in the bushes at the other end of the gully behind the Inquisitor caught her attention. Her head tilted to the side as she watched in confusion. There was nothing there but the plants were definitely moving out of something’s way. Her eyes narrowed as she watched on and suddenly the plants stopped moving. A hooded figure appeared out of thin air just like the dwarf had and slowly drew a dagger out from a shealth on their hip. The figure vanished again and the plants began to move. “Fuck.” Rin muttered when she realized the assassin was headed for the Inquisitor. She glanced around frantically trying to figure out what to do and her eyes landed on a tree branch that draped over the gully. Her body screamed in exhaustion when she made a run for the tree. She scrambled across the biggest branch and dropped into the gully from above the Inquisitor. She hit the ground with a painful thud and the group of fighters jolted to action just as the assassin flew through the air towards the Inquisitor with their blade drawn. From the ground, Rin threw up her hands and loudly grunted as she summoned a golden barrier between the assassin and herself and the Inquisitor. The assassin screamed and bounced off the barrier. He fell to the ground and before he could even scramble to get up, the Qunari’s axe had cleaved through his body. Rin lowered the shield with a heavy breath and looked up at the company. “Maker’s breath, where did you come from?!” yelled Cassandra and the dwarf laughed while the Inquisitor and the Qunari stared at her. “What do you want to do Boss” he panted out and narrowed his one eye at her. She looked at the other that was bisected by a vicious scar and covered by an eyepatch. “Stand down Bull” the Inquisitor said softly and crouched down to Rin’s crumpled body on the forest floor. “Thank you for saving my life. Who are you and where did you come from?” he smiled gently at her and she felt an odd sense of peace wash over her. “Relief” she thought. “My name is Rin.” she said quietly and looked around at each of them. “I am a Farseth Healer and I’ve been wandering in search of purpose.” The Qunari raised an eyebrow. “I...I think I was supposed to find you” she was able to squeeze out nervously while she mentally prayed they were what they seemed to be.


End file.
